1. Raymond Radway — had the team made, but his injury was ugly. Don’t know if he’ll play this year. He’s number one if he’s close. He’s what they want, tall, smooth, a good leaper and eats up CB cushions. At least he did. He had the equivalent of the Joe Thiesmann injury, so we’ll see.

2. Kevin Ogletree — he’s one of the top “black hats” entering 2012, guys the fans hate. Was not ready to start when Austin and Bryant got injured last year. Ran crappy routes. Ego the size of Montana but no work ethic. That’s a lethal combination. Still, he has skill.

3. Dwayne Harris — Good route runner. Good hands. Not explosive, however. That’s not good for a slot guy. Needs guys ahead of him to go down or somehow needs to shave a tenth off his 40 time.

4. Don’t know anything about Andre Holmes, but…

5. Teddy Williams — I have no idea how this guy sticks. Converted track athlete, which is probably why Dallas has been patient. Still, I have seen nothing to advocate for him.

Since then, the Cowboys drafted Danny Coale in the 5th round, and signed 4 undrafted free agents: Cole Beasley, Tim Benford, Saalim Hakim, and Donavan Kemp. Williams is now listed on the Cowboys’ roster as a CB.

I think the general consensus (or hope) among Cowboys fans is that Danny Coale will step up and be that #3 guy. However, if recent history is any indicator, that’s unlikely to happen. Over the last 5 years, 18 wide receivers have been drafted in the 5th round. Only 2 provided significant contributions in their rookie season:

Player

Team

Round

Overall

Year

Rec

Yards

TD

Denarius Moore

Raiders

5

148

2011

33

618

5

Johnny Knox

Bears

5

140

2009

45

527

5

Jeremy Kerley

Jets

5

153

2011

29

314

1

Aundrae Allison

Vikings

5

146

2007

8

122

0

Riley Cooper

Eagles

5

159

2010

7

116

1

Steve Breaston

Cardinals

5

142

2007

8

92

0

Legadu Naanee

Chargers

5

172

2007

8

69

0

Kenny McKinley

Broncos

5

141

2009

3

32

0

Niles Paul

Redskins

5

155

2011

2

25

0

Kealoha Pilares

Panthers

5

132

2011

0

0

0

David Reed

Ravens

5

156

2010

0

0

0

Kerry Meier

Falcons

5

165

2010

0

0

0

Jarret Dillard

Jaguars

5

144

2009

0

0

0

Brooks Foster

Rams

5

160

2009

0

0

0

Kenneth Moore

Lions

5

136

2008

0

0

0

Matthew Slater

Patriots

5

153

2008

0

0

0

David Clowney

Packers

5

157

2007

0

0

0

Roy Hall

Colts

5

169

2007

0

0

0

TOTALS

143

1915

12

AVG

8

106

1

More after the jump…

Radway, Harris, and Holmes have zero combined receptions in their careers. Ogletree, in 2011, was beaten out for the #3 spot by a guy they picked up off the street 4 days before the season began. Ogletree finished the 2011 season with 15 catches for 164 yards and no TD’s.

The #3 WR has become a position in the NFL that has grown in importance, as most teams have at least one reserve that can play. By my count, there are 25 teams that will likely head into the 2012 season with a veteran player as their #3. Here’s that list, and where Ogletree would rank yardage-wise in comparison:

Player

Team

Receptions

Yards

TD

Doug Baldwin

Seahawks

51

788

4

Deion Branch

Patriots

51

702

5

Early Doucet

Cardinals

54

689

5

Jason Avant

Eagles

52

679

1

David Nelson

Bills

61

658

5

James Jones

Packers

38

635

7

Lance Moore

Saints

52

627

8

Titus Young

Lions

48

607

6

Jordan Shipley (2010 numbers)

Bengals

52

600

3

Josh Cribbs

Browns

41

518

4

David Gettis

Panthers

37

508

3

Harry Douglas

Falcons

39

498

1

Legedu Naanee

Dolphins

44

467

1

Michael Jenkins

Vikings

38

466

3

Arrelious Benn

Buccaneers

30

441

3

Brandon Gibson

Rams

36

431

1

Mike Thomas

Jaguars

44

415

1

Randy Moss

49ers

28

393

5

Earl Bennett

Bears

24

381

1

Vincent Brown

Chargers

19

329

2

Andre Caldwell

Bengals

37

317

3

Emmanuel Snaders

Steelers

22

288

2

Jacoby Ford

Raiders

19

279

1

Jonathan Baldwin

Chiefs

21

254

1

Josh Morgan

Redskins

15

220

1

Kevin Ogletree

Cowboys

15

164

0

The other 7 teams could potentially have a rookie as their 3. Here are the rookies that could see significant action in Year 1:

The Cowboys were extremely fortunate last year when the Chargers cut Laurent Robinson. They swooped in quickly, and Robinson had a breakout season as the team’s #3 WR, catching 54 balls for 858 yards and a whopping 11 TD’s. That production is not going to be matched this year from their 3, and the Cowboys may need similar luck from the scrap heap this season to even come close.

37 Comments

[…] way you lean, both Bryant and Austin HAVE TO stay healthy, this year more than any other. The Cowboys already don’t have a player currently on their roster that is a surefire 3rd recei…. If they lose one of their top 2 WRs, defenses can load up on the remaining WR and Witten, […]

I agree, counting on a 5th rounder is a bad plan anyway. Dallas is definitely holding on to these guys because they believe they can develop, but none of this is adding up. Most fans think Olgetree won’t make the roster, Radaway won’t recover from his injury, Andre Holmes is a coaches favorite but no one else has any reason to believe, and I can’t believe Teddy Williams is still around. Teddy wouldn’t be here except for the 90 player roster deal.

However, the real flaw in Dallas, with Robinson catching 11 TDs was just how bad Dallas was scoring on running plays in the red zone. With our new guards, FB and all that business hopefully Dallas won’t have to rely on Romo + Robinson for 11 redzone connections

[…] talked about roster breakdowns recently. Jimmy Bama has a good post up about Dallas and their WR position. Wow, I didn’t realize how ugly things are. They have a great pair of starters in Bryant […]

I’m most interested in Andre Holmes and Raymond Radway. These two have the prototypical size/speed that the Cowboys have always prized and they have a full package of skills – not a 1-trick pony like Ogletree.

As UDFAs they had zero chance of making an impact in 2011. But with a full off-season I’m very interested to see what techniques they can learn from Jimmy Robinson.

I think them very similar to what Sam Hurd and Miles Austin were when they joined the team as UDFAs. The #1 thing I want to see this training camp is how they take (or don’t take) that big next step from potential to production.

Id like to see how previous tall eagles linebackers have stacked up against tight ends in the past and how much does height make a difference or if it is mostly not being able to keep up with jason witten, jake ballard, and fred davis.

I dunno. I think we also have to remember that Robinson did alot of his damage while Miles Austin was out. 1/3 of his catches and yards, and 5 of his 11 TDs, came in the 4 week stretch when Austin was out. He caught 26 balls last year in games in which Austin played. Still scored 6 TDs, though, which could be tougher to replace.

Don’t get me wrong, the Cowboys need depth. It’s likely that Austin or Bryant will go down at some point, so the third is a worry. But I also don’t think that they need to go out and sign a guy like Jacoby Jones, who’s only proven that he’s really not that good.

Instead, they need to focus on actually developing some depth. Giving the young guys a shot. I think there’s a good chance Tony Romo can make it work with them. At least, as long as they’re not as “stupid” as Kevin Ogletree.

Austin has become one of the more underrated players in the game. Awesome player when he’s right. You can add Witten to that mix too. Very good 1-2-3. Right now it’s a very good group, again, if healthy. They could be scary if they had a great 3, but that’s currently missing.

If you read Bob Sturm you know that it’s the 2WR 2TE set that has been by far and away the most productive for he Cowboys over the past 3 years. What the Garrett offense does best is make you guess run/pass and do the opposite.

If the O-line can establish the run and make safeties creep towards the LOS then you don’t need a 3rd WR because Austin and Bryant both know how to toast single-coverage.

I agree about needing just an adequate #3. If Bryant and Austin can stay healthy they will make up for some of the lost production. Keep in mind Robinson did a lot of his damage last year when Austin was out.

It’s a projection of who the #3 receivers will be heading into 2012, using their 2011 stats. Manningham is projected to start in SF. Some of the projections are somewhat debatable (this being one example), but I put Manningham ahead of Randy Moss.

I don’t think the Cowboys will have a true #3 WR this year. I believe they will have to get that production from a platoon of players. Radway, Coale, Harris and Ogletree will probably all get a chance to take the spot, but ultimately it will probably be a combination of 2 or 3 guys who man the spot.

Witten and Hanna will also be asked to pick up some of the production lost in Robinson. Also, hopefully Austin and Bryant will be able to stay healthy (something neither of them did last year and one of the reasons for Robinson getting so many targets).